English
mate
Mate comes from Middle Low German mate, earlier gemate ‘messmate’, from Proto-Germanic *gamatô ‘table companion’, built on *matiz ‘food’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*matiz1‘food’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gamatô1‘messmate, table companion’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gamatō1reconstructed
- Old Saxonc. 800–1200*gimato1reconstructed
- Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600gemate1‘messmate’
- Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600mate1‘messmate’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mate1
- Englishearliest quotation 1611mate1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English mate
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Tragedie of Cymbeline: “If she be mated with an equal husband.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*matizWiktionary, English mate‘food’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gamatôWiktionary, English mate‘messmate, table companion’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gamatōWiktionary, English matereconstructed
- Old Saxonc. 800–1200*gimatoWiktionary, English matereconstructed
- Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600gemateWiktionary, English mate‘messmate’
- Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600mateWiktionary, English mate‘messmate’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mateWiktionary, English mate
- Englishearliest quotation 1611mateWiktionary, English mate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Tragedie of Cymbeline: “If she be mated with an equal husband.”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with mate, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- ‘to be wet, to become wet’
through Proto-Germanic *matiz ‘food’
17 more relatives in the full family tree
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Another origin of mate
- Persianc. 900–presentشاهماتšâh mâtas شاه مات‘checkmate’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400mat‘checkmate’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600mater
- Englishtodaymate
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Today it means
noun A fellow, comrade, colleague, partner or someone with whom something is shared, e.g. shipmate, classmate.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “mate”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *matiz / mate